[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 221 (Thursday, November 14, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58365-58367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29172]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 961105310-6310-01; I.D. 102396A]
RIN 0648-AJ31


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment 17

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to implement Framework Adjustment 17 
to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This 
framework would implement a measure to restore unused days-at-sea (DAS) 
to vessels recorded under the DAS effort-control program as having 
fished less than one-sixth of their Amendment 7 allocation during the 
months of May and June 1996. The intended effect of this rule is to 
provide vessels with their full Amendment 7 allocation of DAS.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 25, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed rule should be sent to Dr. Andrew 
A. Rosenberg, Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 
1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the 
envelope: ``Comments on Multispecies Framework Adjustment 17.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan A. Murphy, NMFS, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 508-281-9252.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Amendment 5 (59 FR 9872, March 1, 1994) to 
the FMP established an effort-reduction program based primarily on 
reductions in DAS allocated to fishing vessels, with exceptions for 
certain classes of vessels. Under Amendment 5, the annual allocation of 
DAS was based on a multispecies fishing year that started on May 1. 
Amendment 7 (61 FR 27710, May 31, 1996), which became effective on July 
1, 1996, eliminated most exceptions to the DAS program and accelerated 
the reductions in DAS for vessels already under the effort-control 
program. During the developmental stages of Amendment 7, when it became 
clear that the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) would 
be unable to submit the amendment in time for it to be

[[Page 58366]]

implemented before the start of the new fishing year, the Council 
agreed to prorate DAS to adjust for the gap between the start of the 
fishing year and the implementation date of the revised allocations. 
The preamble of the proposed rule for Amendment 7 (61 FR 8540), 
published on March 5, 1996, stated that ``DAS will be prorated to 
account for a full fishing year beginning May 1, 1996, through April 
30, 1997.''
    Comment from industry, received after the close of the proposed 
rule comment period, reflected that some members misconstrued how DAS 
prorations would be applied to different vessel groups upon 
implementation of Amendment 7. Vessel owners fishing under the DAS 
program in May and June believed that proration of DAS was meant to 
apply specifically to vessels that were exempt from the DAS program 
prior to Amendment 7 and that Amendment 5 call-in system vessels were 
to have their DAS in the months of May and June subtracted from their 
total Amendment 7 allocation. Because of this confusion and the 
resulting consequence that several vessels did not fish their full 
allotment of prorated DAS in the months of May and June, DAS vessel 
owners appealed to the Council to provide the full-year allocation 
pending verification of their lack of fishing activity.
    In response to this concern, the Council submitted this proposed 
framework, which would restore unused DAS (up to one-sixth of the full-
year allocation) to vessels enrolled in the call-in system in May and 
June 1996, that did not record more than one-sixth of their full-year 
allocation. In its submission, the Council specifically excluded 
vessels that were exempt from the DAS call-in requirement prior to 
Amendment 7. The Council asserted that since these vessels were not 
monitored before July 1, the vessel owners had no reason to believe 
that days not fished in May and June would be credited to their 
allocation. The Council argued that it would place an unacceptable 
burden on previously exempt vessel owners to demonstrate, and NMFS to 
review, a verification of groundfish activity during this 2-month 
period.
    The analysis shows that 698 vessels held Amendment 5 DAS permits on 
June 30, 1996 (the last day that the Amendment 5 regulations were in 
effect), and were allocated a total of 95,715 DAS for the period May 1, 
1996, through April 30, 1997 (Amendment 7). Of this number of vessels, 
77 percent fished less than the prorated allocation of DAS (from May 1 
through June 30) and 23 percent fished greater than or equal to their 
prorated allocation. For vessels fishing under DAS prior to 
implementation of Amendment 7, the result of approving this framework 
and restoring DAS is that the total number of DAS allocated under 
Amendment 7 in its first year of implementation will increase by 1.5 
percent or less. This difference is negligible and would have no effect 
on the analysis conducted for Amendment 7. In fact, this difference is 
expected to dissipate during the remainder of the fishing year as the 
smaller vessels become constrained by winter weather.
    Vessels holding a 1996 Amendment 5 northeast multispecies permit in 
the Individual, Fleet, or Combination Vessel categories were 
automatically assigned to categories and sent a permit upon 
implementation of Amendment 7. With this new permit, vessels were also 
sent an Amendment 7 application so that, if they choose to, they could 
request a change in permit category, provided that the application was 
completed and sent to the Regional Administrator by August 15, 1996. 
Because of this ability to change permit categories, the restoration of 
DAS will be calculated based on the permit category held by the vessel 
on August 16, 1996.

Classification

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.
    The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the 
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, 
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities as follows:

    The proposed rule would restore unused days-at-sea (DAS) for the 
months of May and June 1996, to fishing vessels that were enrolled 
in the DAS program under Amendment 5 to the FMP that did not record 
more than one-sixth of their 1996 fishing year allotment of DAS 
under Amendment 7.
    Restoring DAS to the approximately 537 vessels that did not use 
one-sixth of their allotment under Amendment 7 in May and June 1996 
would reestablish the original 1996 fishing year allocation for 
these vessels and was taken into account in analyses supporting 
Amendment 7 itself. Therefore, no new analysis is needed. The 
proposed action is unlikely to materially reduce or increase annual 
revenues beyond the analysis contained in Amendment 7 or increase 
production and compliance costs, and would not force small entities 
to cease business operations.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: November 7, 1996.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

    1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    2. In Sec. 648.82, paragraphs (b)(1)(i), (b)(2)(i), (b)(5)(i) and 
(b)(7)(i) are revised and paragraph (j) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 648.82  Effort-control program for limited access vessels.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) DAS allocation. A vessel fishing under the Individual DAS 
category shall be allocated 65 percent of its initial 1994 allocation 
baseline, as established under Amendment 5 to the NE Multispecies FMP, 
multiplied by the proration factor of 0.833 for the 1996 fishing year, 
unless a vessel qualifies for a restoration of DAS under paragraph (j) 
of this section, and 50 percent of its initial allocation baseline for 
the 1997 fishing year and beyond, as calculated under paragraph (d)(1) 
of this section.
* * * * *
    (2) * * *
    (i) DAS allocation. A vessel fishing under the Fleet DAS category 
shall be allocated 116 DAS (139 DAS multiplied by the proration factor 
of 0.833) for the 1996 fishing year, unless a vessel qualifies for a 
restoration of DAS under paragraph (j) of this section, and 88 DAS for 
the 1997 fishing year and beyond.
* * * * *
    (5) * * *
    (i) DAS allocation. A vessel fishing under the Combination Vessel 
category shall be allocated 65 percent of its initial 1994 allocation 
baseline, as established under Amendment 5 to the NE Multispecies FMP, 
multiplied by the proration factor of 0.833 for the 1996 fishing year, 
unless a vessel qualifies for a restoration of DAS under paragraph (j) 
of this section, and 50 percent of its initial allocation baseline for 
the 1997 fishing year and beyond, as calculated under paragraph (d)(1) 
of this section.
* * * * *
    (7) * * *

[[Page 58367]]

    (i) DAS allocation. A vessel fishing under the Large Mesh Fleet DAS 
category shall be allocated 129 DAS (155 DAS multiplied by the 
proration factor of 0.833) for the 1996 fishing year, unless a vessel 
qualifies for a restoration of DAS under paragraph (j) of this section, 
and 120 DAS for the 1997 fishing year, and beyond. To be eligible to 
fish under the Large Mesh Fleet DAS category, a vessel while fishing 
under this category must fish with gillnet gear with a minimum mesh 
size of 7-inch (17.78-cm) diamond mesh or trawl gear with a minimum 
mesh size of 8-inch (20.32-cm) diamond mesh, as described under 
Sec. 648.80(a)(2)(ii), (b)(2)(ii), and (c)(2)(ii).
* * * * *
    (j) Restoration of unused DAS. Vessels that held valid 1996 
Amendment 5 NE multispecies permits in the Individual, Fleet or 
Combination Vessel categories are eligible for restoration of unused 
DAS if DAS fished during May and June 1996 was less than 1/6th of their 
1996 Amendment 7 allocation. Restoration of DAS will be based on the NE 
multispecies permit category held on August 16, 1996. These vessels 
will be automatically credited with DAS equal to the difference between 
the proration reduction and their DAS fished during May and June 1996, 
as recorded in the NMFS call-in system specified at Sec. 648.10(c) (or 
on other verifiable evidence of days spent fishing for multispecies). 
If the number of DAS fished during this time period exceeded the 
proration reduction amount, those days will not be subtracted from a 
vessel's 1996 allocation.
[FR Doc. 96-29172 Filed 11-8-96; 12:51 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F